Jun: Cicero tutor
Certified Tutor
I have more than 10 years of teaching experience in various institutions in China and the United States. My teaching experience started in 1993 when I was an instructor in Shandong Medical University in China. I taught biochemistry full-time for 3 years to undergraduate and graduate students. The activities include preparation of lecture, lecturing, office meeting with students, administration of exams and grading, and even starti of a class from scratch. I am highly praised by my students and supervisors. Even today I still kept the communication with many students.
From 1996 and 2003, I was a PhD gradate student at the University of Missouri-Columbia. I taught biochemistry 1094 (Biochemistry Laboratory) as a teaching assistant. The activities are similar to my previous teaching. It is worth noting that due to my teaching excellence, I was awarded Donald K. Anderson Teaching Award in 1999 by my department.
From 2009 to 2014, I was a MBA/Master of Statistics student at UCLA. I have taught Statistics 102c (Intro to Monte Carlo Simulation) and Life Science 3 (Intro Mol Biol) to undergraduate students. I went through the formal teacher training/certification process offered by UCLA. After my teaching, I usually got an excellent review from my students. Here are the selected quotation from my after class teaching evaluation: Jun was a wonderful T.A. in that he was invested in our class and helping us learn the material. He was well-prepared for each discussion class and presented the material well. and He is so into it and plus so kind. He has been very nice to everybody.
Overall, I have enjoyed greatly teaching. I think I have two strengths that distinguish me. First, I am very concerned with my students learning. Seeing a students face shine after solving a doubts or question gives me great satisfaction. Second, with respect to the content, I like to approach the same learning points/issues from as many angles as possible. Therefore even before a student asks me question, I am already prepared.
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Undergraduate Degree: University of Science and Technology of China - Bachelor of Science, Biology, General
Graduate Degree: University of California-Los Angeles - Masters, Statistics
Biking, both mountain biking and road.
- Advanced Placement Prep
- AP
- AP Statistics
- Applied Mathematics
- MCAT Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems
- Business
- Business Analytics
- Business Statistics
- College Algebra
- College Business
- Computational Problem Solving
- Conversational Mandarin
- Datamining
- GMAT Analytical Writing Assessment
- GMAT Integrated Reasoning
- GMAT Quantitative
- Graduate Test Prep
- High School Business
- Languages
- Linear Algebra
- Mandarin Chinese
- Mandarin Chinese 1
- Marketing
- Math
- Microbiology
- Molecular Biology
- Probability
- Statistics
- Statistics Graduate Level
- Technology and Coding
- Virology
What is your teaching philosophy?
Through understanding the subject content in detailing, let the student see and enjoy the beauty of the subject.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
For the first half of the time, I would do an introduction of myself and an assessment of the student need. For the second half, I will answer the student's question about a specific subject within the area of the student's needs.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
First, stimulate the student's interest. Second, provide the tools for learning, such as how to search for various references for answers and evaluate that answer.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
The most important thing is to understand the student's need at a deeper level. Some students are interested in the subject content, while others are interested in the benefit (such as a high grade and the resulting career opportunity) of understanding the subject content.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
First, understand what the student can understand. Second, relate this difficult concept to what the student already knows. Remember always to be patient.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
I would first find out what the problem is. A lot of time it is because the student lacks preliminary knowledge. In this case, I would work on the student's preliminary knowledge. However, a lot of times it is simply because students need more exercise. In that case, the student needs to repeatedly do exercise.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
The strategy of understanding the student's needs before jumping into the issue is the most effective.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
I would explain how related the subject is to the student's life, either his future career or something that he's interested in.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
I would ask a question that requires the student to think from a different angle.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
In my opinion, confidence is not an emotion or feeling. Confidence needs to be based on solid things, including success and doing the right thing.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
First, talk to the student and know the student's life. This is simple, but few people have the patience to do it well. Second, give the students some quiz questions related to the specific subject that the student is interested in.
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
I would do constant teaching evaluation based on the student's response.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
Textbooks, problem sets and online reading material.